Remember When

  10 years ago (2015) •It was a record-breaking night for volunteers and fundraising coordinators at Sanford Luverne Hospice Saturday, April 11. The Blue Mound Banquet Center in Luverne accommodated a packed house of 400 people for the Annual Hospice Charity Dinner and Auction fundraiser, which featured a New Orleans and Mardi Gras theme. According to Sanford Luverne Hospice volunteer…

10 years ago (2015) •Students from Hills-Beaver Creek and Luverne are nearing the completion of a yearlong leadership and development training program developed by Sioux Valley Energy. In total, 32 sophomore and junior students took part in the first-ever EmPOWER Youth Leadership program. Students participating in the program include Thea Richards form Hills-Beaver Creek and Ryleigh Beers,…

10 years ago (2015) •Betty Mann will be 85 years old on May 1. This is also her 20th year as president of the Rock County Historical Society. So her friend Esther Spease Frakes came up with the perfect way to celebrate Betty’s birthday and the landmark year with the Historical Society. “We can give Betty the best gift for her 85th birthday on May 1 by making a donation in her honor to the…

10 years ago (2015) •A familiar structure in the city of Hardwick was removed recently, having outgrown its usefulness in today’s modern agricultural practices. For 123 years the wooden grain elevator stood at the west end of Main Street, one of several structures built during the municipality’s inaugural year of 1892. “When we bought the place in 2005, it was already too small,” said current…

10 years ago (2015) •A man who dedicated more than 30 years of service to Luverne High School athletics will be honored for his efforts in St. Cloud March 25. Elmer Menage, a longtime coach and athletic director at LHS, will be inducted into the Minnesota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame that evening. … Menage wore many hats after he arrived in Luverne in 1967…

10 years ago (2015) •The Luverne Economic Development Authority took action Monday to approve a commercial demolition grant request from the Sterrett family. The LEDA agreed to give $5,000 toward the demolition of a house and outbuildings on the acreage just east of Luverne City Park along River Road. It once belonged to Rita Sterrett’s parents, Melvin and Annie Rees, and now the Sterrett…

10 years ago (2015) •An eighth-grader will represent Luverne at the state Geography Bee slated for March 27 in St. Cloud. Shane Berning was crowned winner of the local contest earlier this year. He is the son of Eric and Janel Berning of Hardwick. According to geography instructor April Wallace, the local bee consisted of three rounds of paper tests. The first round involved a sixth-through-…

10 years ago (2015) •Six individuals will interview Monday and Tuesday to be Luverne Public School’s next superintendent. Each will meet for two hours with the district’s interview committee plus receive a personal tour of the school campus. The top two or three individuals will be invited for a second interview. The committee will suggest their top pick to fill the position at the March 26…

10 years ago (2015) •Perhaps Lon Remme’s phone greeting comes from his military experience but the gruff-sounding Bauhhs Gar-rahhhge” will be a thing of the past on June 30. That’s when the Luverne Public School District transportation director will call it quits, retiring after 36 years on the job. “It’s time to do other things,” the 67-year-old said. Those things include spending more time…

10 years ago (2015) •A new program at the Luverne Middle-High School has improved student performances since its implementation this school year. The program is called “Power of ICU: Reviving Student Engagement and Responsibility” and its use is meant to improve communication between teachers, students and parents. Named after the medical term “intensive care unit,” the program has also been…

10 years ago (2015) •After 45 years in the priesthood (10 of those in Luverne), Father Tom Jennings has announced his retirement. Jennings, who pastors St. Catherine Church in Luverne and St. Mary’s Church in Ellsworth, is quick to point out that he’s not leaving until July 2016. Until then, he’ll be working hard to prepare his local congregations for major changes looming in the diocese. Due…

10 years ago (2015) •Luverne’s Darrel Van Aartsen enjoys remodeling projects such as the one Jan. 27 he was working with his nephew, Matt Jacobsma. Tearing apart the exterior that will become Luverne Area Community Foundation’s new home on the corner of Main and Freeman streets, he uncovered a bit of history. There were two plywood signs that read “Lamberton’s Café Dining Room” used as cover…

10 years ago (2015) •Luverne’s Carla VanSanten was recently named the 2014 Big Buddy of the Year. “Carla is a very caring and giving person,” said Lisa Nath, Big Buddy coordinator. “She is very busy, but she always makes time for what is important to her.” VanSanten learned of the honor at the Big Buddy annual December gathering, which she and her husband, Steve, hosted at their home.…

10 years ago (2015) •At the end of each year for the last 20 years, a survey has been conducted of farmland sales in 14 southwestern Minnesota counties in which land values have been steadily increasing until 2014. The survey reports bare farmland sales to non-related parties for the first six months of each year. After reaching record high prices in 2013, the upward trend was broken as prices…

10 years ago (2015) •Jim Brandenburg fans and nature lovers around the globe are enjoying the photographer’s latest project, Nature 365. “It is a daily journal that has been made from the world I have lived in for the past dozen or more years,” Brandenburg, a Luverne native, writes in his blog. His wife, Judy, calls them mini nature meditations. “I personally start each morning with this mini…

10 years ago (2015) •Activity from the Luverne Senior Citizens Center was a little busier than usual Wednesday, Dec. 31 — about three times busier than normal. The center on East Lincoln Street in Luverne is a senior dining site, which serves a well-balanced meal each weekday to an average of 35 individuals. On Wednesday 150 meals were planned. “This is a big day,” said center volunteer Judy…